Edward Scissorhands title opening art and opening credits

Here are 9 still frames from the opening of the film Edward Scissorhands.

And this is the actual intro as a video which I have taken from Youtube.

Top Ten Most Seen Horror Movies At The Cinema

Using the Box Office UK Website I have taken a print screen of the 10 most watched Horror movie films at the cinema, this will give us an idea of what things we could incude into our own film intro by taking similar ideas from other horror movies and interprertating our own. The audience we are aiming for will be more likely to enjoy the film opening then.

BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.
The BBFC rates theatrically released films, and rated videos and video games.

U - should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

PG - General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

12/12A -  the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.
No-one under the age of twelve may be permitted to see a twelve rated film at the cinema, unless the parents or guardian thinks the film is suitable for their child and accompanies them.

15 - No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

18 - No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video work.

R18 - The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order.

This information was taken from the official BBFC website

I have made a mood board of horror related images since we were thinking of a horror theme, as you can see the colours are all quite dark, as is expected of the genre. There are lots of blacks, dark blues, reds and dark greens, which we will need to consider when thinking about lighting, costume and setting.

I have been looking at examples of other AS Media projects that were openings to a film, to see what previous students had done for their introduction. This film I watched is good for the type of film opening we could possibly do, because it has elements of a horror/thriller and talking as a group we think that horror's allow you to be quite creative and they are also popular with a large audience.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Opening

This is the opening to the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, I think this is a good opening since straight away you have a narrator giving you an insight to the film without really telling you much about it, which gets you interested and then it goes straight into the opening titles. The titles do not lose the viewers attention because as soon as it starts there is a song which is obviously designed to be quite catchy, and it tells you lots about what the film will be like aswell as introducing almost all of the characters individually.

This is a stop motion film, which is where you make objects appear as if they are physically moving through individually photographed frames. I think the film actually attracts more interest by using this technique since it is different from real life actors and filming.

Juno film opening.

This is the opening to the film Juno, I think this is a good opening because it suits the aimed audience of the film, which would be teenagers and young adults because the scenery is drawn rather than real, and art is a huge part of young culture for this generation. Also the music, although thought by some people to be quite old fashioned suits the atmosphere and is a song that would probably appeal to teenagers and young adults, especially since music is hugely popular wth those generations.
From this into we instantly see the type of scenes where the film will be set and the main focus is on the main character, Juno McGuff.
I think that if the opening didn't have the scene beforehand, and just went straight into the opening titles then it would not attract as many viewers, as they could possibly get bored since it is just the character walking.

The technical codes of the opening are the lighting, which is quite bright and generally 'happy' which gives off the impression that the film is going to be a positive one that people will enjoy. It is mainly medium shots to get in part of the main character, Juno (who we know will be the main character now, thanks to the opening) and the background.
Symbolic codes are that the colours are bright and friendly, again giving off the impression that the film is going to be a generally happy one and that the main character is perahaps quite easy going. Clothing on the main character is very casual, showing this is not a formal film and appeals to the aimed audience. Body language is very relaxed, yet again showing the easy going nature of the character and how the film is going to be a happy, positive one rather than giving the impression it is going to be a horror or an action film.

Codes and Conventions

Codes are generally signs that have a meaning to convey. Codes can be divided generally into two categories which are technical and symbolic:

•  Technical codes are for example, the camera work used to make the film. The features and equipment that are used to tell the story, but this could be from anything from a film to a piece of media text. Technical codes could include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, lighting and exposure.

• Symbolic codes are the things which tell us the meaning behind what we are looking at, the "secret messages". This could be as simple as the characters actions or expressions that show what the character is thinking or feeling. Symbolic codes can be the setting, objects, clothing and colour.

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something, and in the case of media texts, they are the accepted patterns of code that communicate a certain message. When looking at conventions in the genre of the film we can see that the conventions in each type of film are quite specific, for example in Romantic films, there would be a lot of close ups to show the expressions of the characters and the sounds included could be melodic music, or laughter of the couple. Both of these things are conventions.
 
Codes and Conventions are vital in the opening of a film, because the opening of the film is the part that draws the audience in, and interests them in the movie. This is also the part where you find out about certain main characters and you begin to discover the plot of the movie, if the movie does not grasp the audience's interest within the opening then the film would have been a waste of time. Codes and Conventions will help with this because they will help the audience to understand the plotline and what type of characters they will be.

These area few codes and conventions explained for a magazine cover.